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Draft Scout Stephen Garcia News

04/02/12 - “It was a little weird coming into Columbia,” said Garcia, who moved back to Tampa immediately after being dismissed. “But I went to lunch yesterday and a few people came up to me and said they really support me and wished me luck. The support here has been awesome. Everybody was cheering, and seeing the old guys was a pretty unbelievable feeling.” While Garcia followed his teammates from afar as they compiled the most successful season in USC history, he admitted it was difficult. Football had always been a part of his life, and Garcia was in a quandary with no idea what direction his life would take. “I went home and I just looked in the mirror and said: ‘What the hell am I going to do now?’ I had no idea what I was going to do. I thought the dream of playing at the next level was over.” Garcia, who played at 230 pounds, ballooned to 245 before coming to a realization. “Monday I called the guy I work with now and said: ‘I’ve got to start training again,’ said Garcia. “I’ve got to give it one shot.’ I think it has paid off. I hope it has. “I have cut back drinking, really cut it out completely, truthfully. I’ve got a chef down there in Tampa who makes my lunch and dinners. I think that has really been the key – losing all the weight. I don’t know if it has been the working out as much as the not drinking and the food.” Garcia weighed in at 218 pounds on Pro Day, lighter than he competed for USC. - Willie T. Smith III, Greenville News

03/29/12 - The moment still seems fresh in Stephen Garcia's mind, though he has tried hard to erase it. He was meeting in October with South Carolina athletic director Eric Hyman and learning that his time as USC's quarterback was finished because of another mistake in a career littered with them. "I kind of blacked out toward the end (of the meeting) because I just didn't even want to hear," Garcia said. Garcia was kicked off the team Oct. 11, three days after the sixth game of his fifth-year senior season and 10 days after he started for the final time - a loss to Auburn that led to coach Steve Spurrier replacing Garcia with sophomore Connor Shaw. Garcia's career included 34 starts and 7,597 passing yards, the third-most in school history, but also five suspensions. The final straw was a failed substance test; Garcia said it was just for alcohol. Garcia's workout produced mixed results. Four straight throws toward the sideline sailed high, but he connected with Jeffery on a couple others, as well as a well-placed deep ball. The questions about Garcia have always been more about his off-field behavior than his on-field performance, though that, too, was spotty at times during his USC career. "I've just got to talk to and get in front of as many scouts as I can, and let them know me on a personal level, so they can see that I wasn't the monster that it was portrayed I was in college," he said. "I'm definitely playing catch-up." - Darryl Slater, The Aiken Standard

03/29/12 - Former USC quarterback Stephen Garcia stood on the field at Williams-Brice Stadium Wednesday for the first time since he was dismissed from the football team last October. Garcia was there for South Carolina's Pro Timing Day, a chance for Gamecock football players who are eligible for the NFL Draft to impress scouts. "It's been a long time guys, huh?" he said to reporters after he worked out. Last October, Garcia was dismissed from the team after violating team rules. Afterward, after his parents came to Columbia and helped him pack up his things, he went back to his hometown of Tampa, Florida, where he started training on his own for a potential NFL career. He said the intervening months have given him a chance to clear his head and improve his body. "Best I've ever felt, truthfully," Garcia said. "Back at home with my girlfriend and son. I feel healthy, I feel great." During the course of the early afternoon, Garcia performed drills, ran the 40-yard dash, and threw passes to old teammates such as Alshon Jeffery. To someone who never knew what took place last season, it would have seemed as if nothing ever happened. But not quite. Garcia got into Columbia Sunday night, and said it was weird to see all the old sights in the town he called home for over four years. He said he's been pleasantly surprised by the support people who've seen him around the city have shown him. "If nothing else I got a chance to see the guys again and say goodbye to a bunch of teachers and people that I didn't get to," he said. Of course, Garcia was asked about October. He doesn't like to talk about that time; for him, it brings back memories he'd rather forget. "Every time I think about it, it's upsetting, what happened, and the way it happened," he said. - WTSP 10 News

03/27/12 - QB Stephen Garcia, who was suspended five times before being dismissed from the team last season, will return to campus Wednesday for pro day. Garcia will be one of 16 former Gamecocks working out. Stephen's father Gary told The State newspaper his son hopes to keep a low profile this time. "He just wants to get in and get his job done," Gary Garcia said. - CBS Sports

02/21/12 - Former South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia wasn't among the 300-plus prospects invited to this week's Scouting Combine, but he is still working hard to convince scouts to give him a shot at the NFL. Garcia participated in the Battle of Florida all-star game and took part in one of the regional scouting combines that were set up this year. He's waiting to hear if he'll be selected for a "super regional combine" scheduled for March 30 at Ford Field in Detroit. It has been a long road for Garcia, a one-time prized recruit who was kicked off the South Carolina team last year for drinking alcohol when he was given a no tolerance policy from coach Steve Spurrier following five previous suspensions. However, Spurrier is allowing Garcia to participate in South Carolina's March 28 pro day, and the quarterback said he's committed to proving to NFL teams that he does not have a problem with alcohol. "I want to meet with the NFL and prove that I'm not an alcoholic," Garcia told Scout.com's Aaron Wilson. "I've learned from my mistakes." "I've learned how immature I really was. I just didn't know exactly how important everything was until after I made all of those mistakes. I was trying to be like every other college kid, but you can't do that as a starting quarterback Garcia is the 26th-rated quarterback available in April's draft by NFLDraftScout.com, and is currently viewed as unlikely to be drafted. However, he could sign as a priority free agent and get that opportunity to prove himself in an NFL camp. - NFLDraftScout.com